Ch. 5- Best Seller (NCERT.sol)

3. Based on your reading of the story, answer the following questions by choosing the correct option. (a) The narrator says that John was “______ of the suff that heroes are not often lucky enough to be made of.” His tone is sarcastic because __________. (i) he hated John (ii) he felt that John was a threat to him (iii) John was not particularly good-looking (iv) nobody liked John Answer – (iii) John was not particularly good-looking

(b) Pescud felt that best-sellers were not realistic as____________. (i) American farmers had nothing in common with European princesses (ii) men generally married girls from a similar background (iii) American men married girls who studied in America (iv) American men did not know fencing and were beaten by the Swiss guards Answer – (ii) men generally married girls from a similar background

(c) “Bully”, said Pescud brightening at once. He means to say that ____________. (i) he is a bully (ii) his manager was a bully (iii) he was being bullied by his co-workers (iv) he was doing very well at his job Answer –(iv) he was doing very well at his job

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(d) The narrator says that life has no geographical bounds implying that __________. (i) human beings are essentially the same everywhere (ii) boundaries exist only on maps (iii) one should work towards the good of mankind (iv) he was happy to travel to other countries Answer – (i) human beings are essentially the same everywhere

4. Answer the following questions briefly.

(a) One day last summer the author was travelling to Pittsburg by chair car. What does he say about his co-passengers? Answer– The author’s co-passengers were well- dressed ladies who refused to open their windows and men wearing identical looking business suits with the same expressionless faces.

(b) Who was the passenger of chair No.9? What did he suddenly do? Answer– The passenger of Chair No. 9 was a travelling salesman from Pittsburgh named John A. Pascud. He was an old friend of the writer. He suddenly threw his book between his chair and window.

(c) What was John A. Pescud’s opinion about best sellers? Why? Answer – John Pescud felt that the stories in such books were of a poor quality and far remote from real life.

(d) What does John say about himself since his last meeting with the author? Answer –According to John, he was on his way to becoming prosperous. His salary had been raised twice along with receiving a commission. He had bought some real estate and was on the way to buying some shares. He was also married now.

(e) How did John’s first meeting with Jessie’s father go? What did the author tell him? Answer – For the first few seconds of John’s first meeting with Jessie’ father was a little nervous but they soon hit it off. John got him to laugh at his stories. They talked for two hours. He was honest with his intentions and asked the colonel to give him a chance to marry his daughter.

(f) Why did John get off at Coketown? Answer – Some time back Jessie had admired some dark blue flowers growing in some of the houses in Coketown, so John had got down there in the hope of finding some saplings of these flowers to take back for Jessie.

(g) John is a hypocrite. Do you agree with this statement? Substantiate your answer. Answer – Yes, John was a hypocrite. This word means a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue. On one hand, he was making fun of the romantic stories written in best-sellers and said that those did not have anything to do with the real life but on the other hand, he himself had had a romantic marriage. He had followed the girl he had seen in a train to her hometown, changing a number of trains till he had landed in her hometown, met her father, and wooed her in the style of any romantic hero of a best-seller.

(h) Describe John A. Pescud with reference to the following points: Physical appearance ……………………………………………………………………………….. His philosophy on behaviour ……………………………………………………………………. His profession ………………………………………………………………………………………… His first impression of his wife ………………………………………………………………… His success …………………………………………………………………………………………….

Answer Physical appearance: John was not particularly good looking His philosophy on behaviour: A man should be decent and law abiding in her/his hometown His profession: A travelling salesman for a plate glass company His first impression of his wife: A very fine girl, whose job was to make this world prettier just by residing in it His success: Much successful John had had his salary raised twice in the previous year and his company was to give him a few shares as well.

5. Complete the flow chart in the correct sequence as it happens in the story. Hint: it begins from the time John Pescud first saw Jessie till the time they marry.

(1) Jessie takes a sleeper to Louisville. (2) Pescud sees a girl (Jessie) reading a book in the train. (3) Pescud speaks to the girl (Jessie) for the first time. (4) Pescud follows her but finds it difficult to keep up. (5) Pescud goes to the village to find out about the mansion. (6) Jessie arrives at Virginia. (7) Pescud meets Jessie’s father. (8) They get married a year later. (9) Pescud instantly gets attracted to the girl (Jessie) (10) Jessie informs Pescud that her father would not approve of them meeting. (11) They meet alone two days later. Answer

(2) Pescud sees a girl (Jessie) reading a book in the train. (9) Pescud instantly gets attracted to the girl (Jessie) (1) Jessie takes a sleeper to Louisville. (4) Pescud follows her but finds it difficult to keep up. (6) Jessie arrives at Virginia. (5) Pescud goes to the village to find out about the mansion (3) Pescud speaks to the girl (Jessie) for the first time. (10) Jessie informs Pescud that her father would not approve of them meeting. (7) Pescud meets Jessie’s father. (11) They meet alone two days later (8) They get married a year later.

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6. Irony refers to the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of their literal meaning. Working in pairs, bring out the irony in the following:

(a) The title of the story, “The Best seller”. Answer-The Best Seller is supposed to be most popular and likeable. But John Pescud throws the best seller “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan” to the floor of the chair car. He later says that all bestsellers have the same unrealistic romantic stories.

(b) Pescud’s claim, “When people in real life marry, they generally hunt up somebody in their own station. A fellow usually picks out a girl who went to the same high-school and belonged to the same singing-society that he did.” Answer– Pescud was of a view that unlike the stories of the bestsellers, in real life people marry somebody in their own status. Someone who has been of a similar background. Yet the irony behind his talks is clearly seen in his own life history. The moment he saw the unknown girl on the train, he fell in love with her, without much knowledge about her status and even after knowing that she belonged to a royal family he did not give up his pursuit. In spite of belonging to a totally different status both got married.

(c) The name Trevelyan.

Answer –Trevelyan is the hero of the bestseller novel “The Rose Lady and Trevelyan.” Pescud condemns such best sellers and makes fun of its unrealistic characters. But at the end of the story, the author calls Pescud a Trevelyan because he had behaved almost like the hero of the bestseller. 2. A newspaper reporter hears of the marriage of Pescud and Jessie. He interviews them and writes an article for the paper entitled: A Modern Romance. Answer- A Modern Romance By- Jim, Astin, William, Peter 19 March, 2coc We thought romances were the creations of highly imaginative minds! Recently I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. and Mrs. Pescud of Pittsburgh on their fairy-tale romance which culminated in marriage a year ago. Mr. john Pescud is a highly successful man working for Cambria Steel Works as a travelling salesman selling plate-glass. He comes from a humble background while Mrs. Pescud belongs to an old aristocratic family of Virginia. How they met can make any best-selling novel pale in comparison! When, Pescud first saw his wife, Jessie reading a book in the train in which he was travelling. He got instantly attracted to her and followed her as she changed several trains till she finally reached Virginia. In fact he says that during that time his business took a back seat! Jessie’s father came to receive her at the station at Virginia and Pescud followed them till they reached their mansion. He booked himself in a hotel and found out details about the family from the landlord of his hotel. On the third day, he met Jessie alone for the first time and informed her